Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville

The Earl of Tankerville
Born(1743-11-15)15 November 1743
St.James's Square, Middlesex, England[1]
Died10 December 1822(1822-12-10) (aged 79)
Walton-on-Thames, England
NationalityEnglish
Other namesLord Ossulston (from 1753 to 1767)
EducationEton College
OccupationGentleman
Known forCricket
Title4th Earl of Tankerville
SuccessorCharles Augustus Bennet
SpouseEmma Colebrooke
Children8
Parent(s)Charles Bennet, 3rd Earl of Tankerville and Alice (née Astley)

Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville (15 November 1743 – 10 December 1822),[2] styled Lord Ossulston from 1753 to 1767, was a British nobleman, a collector of shells[3] and a famous patron of Surrey cricket in the 1770s. He agreed a set of cricket rules that included the first mention of the Leg before wicket rule.[4]

His wife, Emma, Lady Tankerville, was notable as a collector of exotic plants. The first tropical orchid to flower in England is named for her as it was it flowered in her greenhouse. Her collection of over 600 illustrations were purchased by Kew Gardens in 1932 and are still available today.[5]

  1. ^ Hull University, accessed 15 June 2008.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster Vol. IV. 1741-1760. 13 December 1743.
  3. ^ A catalogue of the shells contained in the collection of the late Earl of Tankerville Archived 14 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine, arranged according to the Lamarckian conchological system; together with an appendix, containing descriptions of many new species... London, E.J. Stirling for G.B. Sowerby, 1825
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference pallmall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Portraying plants:illustrations collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Marilyn Ward and John Flanagan, Art Libraries journal, Feb 2003